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So my manifold has been cracked for quite some time, i had a megan header (cat-less) for some time, but the smell and fit weren't the best. Megan header wasn't an exact fit, it pushed the stock exhaust piping down so low that i would scrape my exhaust every time i went over a bump or up a hill. Not to mention the lack of low end torque. I then went back to my cracked manifold for quite some time. I've decided to get an aftermarket OEM replacement. Has anyone here ever used the magnaflow oem replacement with hi-flow cat? Or for that matter any oem replacement for the manifold? I'm just trying to find something similar to stock, but with an exact stock fit. I really don't feel like dishing out 400-700 for the Honda OEM manifold, knowing that it will just crack eventually.

 
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I asked that question awhile back and was told that you're not going to get anything close to OEM quality as far as the Cat is concerned. If you're thinking of dishing out that kind of cash for a header, may as well use it to by an EX Cat. Then you can buy any aftermarket header you want.

 
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OEM cats tend to be the highest quality you can get, especially when it comes to emission control. Aftermarket cats do ok but they don't come close.

 
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My exhaust mainfold is cracked too. I've been driving it that way. Mine isn't so bad; it's kind of loud when the engine is cold, but it quiets down significantly once it warms up.

I called a local welding shop to ask about the possiblity of welding it up somehow, even though the conventional wisdom is that you can't weld cast iron. I was told they could probably braze it if the crack wasn't too wide. Their shop charge is $80 an hour, and he figured it would take them 30 minutes -- max -- to seal that crack up.

That was a couple months ago. I haven't been motivated enough to fight with the rusty bolts and disintegrating heat shields in the meantime.

'Cause after all... it's not too bad.

 
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These manifolds are steel that is welded together. Mine has a crack at the matting of manifold and top mounting flange. The weld gave out. 20 bucks to get it welded, not a big deal.

Why spend the money on an after market or OEM when a weld is perfectly fine. The only time I see replacing one of these is if the CAT is shot, or if the crack is on the O2 sensor hole and you have issues tapping it after the welding repair.

 
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this thread is almost a year old!

 
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true, but it comes up on a google search on the first page. So I am sure others are reading it.

 
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Yeah, I'm sure others are reading it, but it doesn't mean you need to reply to it since it's almost 9 months old.

 
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No. I'm actually glad he replied to it because he contributed valuable information, that being: cracked manifolds on 7th gen LX/DX's can be successfully welded because they are stamped steel and NOT cast iron, which is more tricky to weld. There is no need to buy aftermarket headers or get into EX exhaust conversions.

When I was researching how to fix my cracked manifold, I came across a lot of threads on here, through Google search, with such catastrophic disinformation about the manifold being cast iron.

I almost ended up buying a completed EX setup, until I discovered that I could repair what I already had at a fraction of the cost.

 
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Well then, good to know it helped somebody.

I feel pretty lucky now having an EX. I bought a Strup stainless steal ceramic coated exhaust manifold about 2 years ago for my EX. Unfortunately, for everyone else, they only make 2001-2005 for EX. One of the best investments I've made in this vehicle. Very high quality stuff at a premium price($440 plus shipping) but, IMHO, a good long term investment since I plan on keeping the vehicle for at least a few more years.

 
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I had a stock dx header with cat, the cat cloged blew whole header apart i loled and then bought an ebay header for 100 bucks been on for a year n a half no problems yet